Legends of the Smoke Jaguars Chapter 70
First go for the eyes. It was taught in the Testimony that an ability to understand the situation was the keystone of strategy, defining every subsequent move. Remove that ability and one would be left to flounder, unable to react or take any initiative. A blinded individual would be left sobbing in fear, whereas an army would be crippled by indecision and panic. Foes would multiply in the mind's eye, the slightest noise becoming a terrifying vision of impending doom in the mind. Remove an opponent's eyes and you assume mastery of them, thus it was written, thus shall it be.
Aapo held these truths close to his hearts as he slit the throat of an idle guard. The man died having never laid eyes upon his killer, caught dozing on watch. Aapo held the body upright for a moment, so it didn't fall and make a noise, then carefully set the PDF trooper down on the floor of dugout. No more did he ache over a human life lost, all on this moon served the Bronze Beast, all living souls were enemies. Justice demanded Methuselah's life alone, but vengeance knows no bounds. There was no shackle on his conscience, only the burning need to spill blood in the names of Xavaar and Engar.
Aapo rummaged through the guard's pockets and found a set of keys, careless of him, the guard shouldn't have kept them on his person. A pair of omniscopes, no use there, a pict of some girl without many clothes, useless, a pack of iho-sticks, pointless. The lascarbine he ignored, but an autopistol drew a wicked smile. This was non-standard, some trophy won or bought one random day. A full clip, most promising, it would make his infiltration of the auspex station much easier.
Aapo glanced over the edge of the dugout at a squat building, crowned by broad dishes and spinning arrays. Fifty metres distant, open ground all the way, a challenge if the PDF troopers were half-awake, but going by the carelessness of the dead watchman there was little chance of that. Aapo had already bypassed tripwires, motion surveyors and thermal-scopes, human eyes were of little concern.
Aapo slipped over the edge and made his way across open ground. He'd timed it well, night was upon them and he was little more than a shimmer in the darkness. No cries of alarm rang, no floodlights lit the land, he reached the wall undetected. He spent a moment wondering how Takana and Hanphu fared. After digging Spectre of Woe out of the pit and evading search patrols they'd spilt up. Three auspex stations they would eliminate, creating a wide breach in the southern perimeter, casting the illusion an organised assault was underway.
A door loomed in the wall, sealed tight. Aapo slid the keys into the mechanism and a rune pad lit up. Too easy, the watchman should be flogged for incompetence, were he not dead. Aapo gripped the autopistol tight and drew an Obsidian Blade, Xavaar's to replace his lost one. Suitably armed he hit a button with the base of his hand and the door slid open to reveal a startled looking man. Aapo's knife sank up to the hilt in his throat before he could utter a word, causing him to gawp like a fish. Why he was at the door didn't matter, the time for action was at hand.
Aapo dropped the dying man and dove into the station, racing down a short corridor. His boots took him into a mess hall, where five bored men were picking over cold rations and grumbling loudly. Barely had their heads come up when the autopistol in Aapo's hand went off, shooting two of them in the back. Sharp retorts bruised his ears and the kick in his hand was fierce. The three others yelled as booms echoed off the bleak walls but Aapo put a round in the first one's heart, the second he shot in the face, making a grizzly visage to sicken the stomach. The third he tried to shoot in the throat but only clipped them with a shoulder hit, stop trying to show off he berated himself as he corrected and fired again, hitting the centre mass and putting them down for good.
Alarums finally went off, the noise of the shooting disturbing the rest of the base. A ruckus arose from an ajoining door, PDF troopers woken from slumber. They were shouting as they scrambled for their lascarbines, arguing if it was a real attack or another accursed drill. Aapo dove to the side of the door and slammed his back to the wall. The first trooper stepped out, eyes bleary and unfocused. Aapo placed the barrel of his pistol to the side of the head and blew their brains out before they registered he was there. Hot red blood painted his face and the recoil jarred his recently healed wrist, but the dark thrill of murder overrode all. He no longer fought it, he embraced it.
More shouting as the other guards cried out in dismay. Aapo shoved the falling body back into the dormitory and stepped into the light. His shadow covered the remaining PDF troopers, four of them, jaws hanging low in shock. Aapo found great pleasure in the terror of the eyes and the confusion that stopped their thoughts. He did not let that slow his hand though, as he gunned them down with single shots. Four deaths in a few seconds, that left one bullet in the gun. He better make the most of it.
He left the gruesome scene behind as he pressed on, heading for the heart of the auspex station. He had to eliminate all living souls before they could get a warning off. That the station had fallen must be known, but the identity of the attacker could not be broadcast. Aapo's hearts beat furiously as he sprinted deeper, heading for the main control room. He found it in a state of disarray, open panels everywhere, wires and cables and tool boxes left strewn about. The base was in the middle of some routine maintenance, as evidenced by the lighted incense in the shrine of the Enginseers.
A lay-adept in red-trimmed robes gawped as he burst in, but more pressing were the six Troopers pouring through the door on the far side of the control centre. The leading one had golden pins attached to the collar of his rubber coat, the commanding officer leading a counter-attack. Aapo cut this bold charge short with a perfect headshot, filling the chamber with a sharp boom. The five Troopers behind ran into the officer's back and stumbling against each other in a confused mess.
"Raaargh!" Aapo screamed as he charged, his cry part fury, part exhilaration but all terrifying. He dove into them before they could process his presence, moving with all the speed his genhanced frame could summon. Before the Troopers even understood what was happening he was on them, smashing the butt of his pistol into the face of a bewildered woman and shattering her nose, before stabbing the next man in the gut. The Trooper doubled over with the force of the impact, hands instinctively gripping the knife. Aapo didn't waste a moment wrestling it back, he let go and went at the remaining Troopers barehanded.
Into them he piled, fists flying and boots stomping. A knee he wrenched out of true with a low kick, a ribcage he fractured with a mighty punch, a mouth sprayed blood and teeth everywhere after encountering his elbow. He was vicious and cruel, inflicting crippling injuries and bestowing pain to all within reach. Were he clad in power armour he would had laid them all out in seconds, but Doan plate was not so mighty, his unarmed attacks were debilitating but not lethal. The PDF Troopers lived, and they fought back.
A bayonet scraped over his breastplate, a brass-knuckled punch to the side made his eyes water and a kick to his groin would have been most painful had he not a codpiece in place. Four trained Troopers gave as good as they got, and for all that they were mortals they were no weaklings in a fight. The Xilbalba PDF was far from an elite force, but their physical training could not be faltered. In moments Aapo suffered many injuries and he found himself in danger of being overwhelmed.
He lashed out with a kick to a midriff that sent the woman with the broken nose stumbling back into her comrades. Aapo jumped clear, seeking room and a weapon. He found a toolbox instead, hardly a power sword but it would have to do. A thin man charged headlong, lunging with a bayonet. Aapo neatly slapped the point aside with an eye-wateringly fast deflection, then rammed a screwdriver into an eye socket. The man went limp, his brain skewered but the rest came on.
The next pair went wide, trying to box him in on two fronts. Aapo's hand went into the toolbox again and grabbed something hard. He was irked to discover a can of Omni-oil in his grip, the nozzle barely a dot in the Plastek head. The PDF troopers grinned as they closed but Aapo deftly sprayed a stream of black oil into the right one's eyes. The man screamed and threw up his hands, but the other came in with a fast stab, only to find the can flying straight into his face. Teeth shattered as the hurled tin smacked hard as a lump hammer, causing the Trooper to drop his weapon. A moment later Aapo's rigid fingers struck his throat, collapsing the larynx and leaving him to die thrashing on the floor. Aapo spied a discarded spanner and snatched it up. A single sweep cracked the skull of the Trooper furiously trying to wipe grease from his eyes, and a second strike put an end to his life. Aapo let the body fall as he turned to confront the last Trooper only to be surprised by a fast tackle.
"Gnaaagh!" the woman with the shattered nose shouted as she flung herself at him, trusting fury to carry the day. Her strike lacked skill but it made up for it with enthusiasm, slamming him painfully into an open console. Pain ran up his spine, but also a thrill of pleasure. This foe was enervated by desperation, the scent of raw adrenaline overpowering, but Aapo's strength was yet greater. Though he was but a Doan he massively outweighed this woman, and he had the advantage in height and reach.
With one hand he grabbed her by the neck and heaved her away. She tried to kick his nether regions but Aapo rode the hit as his other hand grabbed a loose cable and threw it around her throat. Her hands went to loosen the noose but Aapo drew back his left arm and drove it into her sternum, expelling wind from her lungs. Then he snapped the garrotte tight. Her fingers clawed at the vice about her throat, her eyes pleading in terror as her face went purple. Aapo beheld fear, denial and desperation washing over her. Words were stolen but her face was a tapestry of emotions, her final seconds a saga played out in micro-expression. She wanted to live so badly, she would have offered anything for another moment of life, but he found only joy in her ending. Was he evil for enjoying proving his superiority over a bold foe, the answer was a stark yes, but he was necessary evil, so taught the Testimony.
Long seconds passed then her fingers fell lifeless as her eyes beheld the realms of the dead. She was gone and Aapo was left holding a corpse, his joy fading to leave a sick nausea in his gut. Aapo dropped the body and looked upon his handiwork. A swift headcount told him he'd disposed of all the PDF Troopers, the task was half-done. He stooped to retrieve his Obsidian Blade, wiping the blood on his sleeve, then replacing it in his sheath.
"Please, don't kill me," a thin voice from the lay-adept.
"Your death is foreordained," Aapo declared as he stepped closer.
"You are a Smoke Jaguar, please, I don't know how we offended you," the cowering man wept.
"And you never will," Aapo hissed.
"Mercy, please mercy!"
"The only mercy I have to offer is a quick death."
Aapo knelt, wrapping his arm around the shoulders and then with a swift jerk broke the adept's neck. Death was instant and painless, and he found no joy in the action. It was a mechanical action, a task to be completed, nothing more. The PDF troopers had put up a real fight, there was a thrill to duelling an enemy who could kill you, but a coward's begging only annoyed him. Proving one's superiority over a formidable opponent was a deed to be relished, but killing one who was utterly helpless did not stir the soul. Aapo discovered the rush of the kill had many subtle shades and he was reminded of another of the Testimony's truths: "A Smoke Jaguar's worth is judged by the quality of his chosen adversary."
All life in the station expunged Aapo moved to complete his next objective. He took out a chisel from a toolbox and began hacking at the wall. An icon he did carve, a squared head, with jagged fangs, crested with lopsided horns. A mark known across the Boscage as belonging to the Orruk Kommandos. Quick and dirty was the work, but then that only added to the deception. To complete the illusion Aapo turned to the machinery and began ripping it apart with his bare hands, pulling out wiring and smashing Cogitator parts with his bare fists. The auspex station would go dark and when searchers came to investigate would find no evidence of the Smoke Jaguars, only of Orruks. Fear and panic would sweep the PDF and a cold smile crept over his face as he imagined Methuselah's headaches multiplying.